An impressive debut and one I think I’ll be thinking about for some time. I think Boryga drives home some really important reflections about our cultures obsession with victimhood. After turning the last page I felt a little unsatisfied and now am wondering if I’m part of the problem. Smart and thought provoking and perhaps a bit predictable I flew through this story. The ending seemed a bit too tidy and I felt a bit distanced from Javier but perhaps that was intentional? Overall a worthwhile read.

Wow! This book was amazing. I devoured this story about a young man from the Bronx whose "trifecta of the right skin color, right birthplace, and tragedy" both builds and leads to the downfall of his writing career. The writing and story were addictive. It gave me Yellowface vibes. Highly recommend!

my biggest question after finishing the bumbling, basic VICTIM was who, exactly, is this book for? it's ineffectual satire won't be read by the politically and socially conservative crowd that boryga seems to hail from, and its message is not a match for litfic's progressive and generally white audience, who will either deeply dislike and distrust its overall tone or in an attempt to distance themselves from the "woke left" boryga is trying to skewer call it things like "transgressive" and "bold" and "morally complex," of which it is none. while i think VICTIM's concept is unique and could've been smartly executed by someone funnier and with a sharper sense of character motivation, boryga instead arrives with bad intentions, seemingly unable to afford any of his characters a single crumb of nuance. he relies instead on dated, inane, cringey strawmen to represent every one of the "woke" folks in javi's orbit, from his girlfriends to liberal arts college classmates to twitter activists and mainstream media journalists. boryga also tragically and deeply underdevelops javi - one can't make any emotional connection to such a passive and unsympathetic character with little interiority who, ironically, seems marked only by his circumstances and the things that happen to him instead of emotional or psychological complexity. even worse, boryga's prose never exceeds a 12th grade level, and most of VICTIM reads like you fed a horny teen boy, the “old man yells at cloud meme,” 2011 tumblr posts, fox news, and some mid 2010s twitter discourse into an AI chatbot and told it to write a basic summary of its inputs. to market VICTIM as a satire with comps like yellowface, paul beatty and percival everett’s erasure (and its new film adaption american fiction) is hilariously offensive, almost convincing me that the marketing team got their hands on some of those sweet bronx street drugs that javi's friend inevitably went away for selling because his character was simply too weak to be a polite, upstanding member of society, in contrast to colorblind javi, who was just naively manipulated by idiotic leftists into framing himself as a victim of oppression and racism when in fact, one can simply choose not to be a victim. ending this novel with a sympathy play for javi without him ever truly understanding or atoning for his mistakes tells you all you need to know about boryga's motivations in writing and publishing VICTIM. i frankly wish someone else had written about this fascinating concept, because boryga isn't clear-eyed enough to make any of it work.

appreciate the opportunity from doubleday to read this early!

The epigraph for this book was perfectly chosen. It is a quote from James Baldwin, “ perhaps the turning point in one’s life is realizing that to be treated like a victim is not necessarily to become one.” That quote tells you exactly where the book is going and the author does it with humor, irony, and great pacing. This is a coming of age story. Javier, the protagonist, went from a rough neighborhood in the Bronx to an elite school in upstate New York. His best friend, dropped out of high school, and went to prison for selling drugs. While Javier was in college, he was taught by his peers that he was a victim of society. He started to use the victim rhetoric to get the girl he wanted, become a big man on campus, and eventually to capitalize on it for his career. This is an easy and fun read that pokes fun at the overuse of underprivileged. It has a propulsive plot, and a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend this book. 4.5 stars

This was a very timely topic and I think something everyone could benefit from. Such a good read for all!
The story was so well done, I couldn't put it down. The details of the Bronx were incredible and the details about the MC's life were captivating.

Thank you, NetGalley and Doubleday Books for allowing me to review this book

Whipsmart doesn't even begin to cover this novel. This book is sharp enough to cut deep, and no one is spared from its satire. Tokenism is on trial, and so are allies whose allyhood is based on convenience and the attention they get, but also, the world of journalism and media isn't spared. I recommend Boryga's book to everyone, but especially those in the media and education spaces.

Andrew Boryga's novel, Victim, skirts the boundaries of hero/anti-hero in its sendup of half-hearted attempts towards diversity in publishing and journalism. The novel follows protagonist Javi Perez through his childhood with his drug dealer father and hard-working mother, and his close friendship with Gio, on through his college career, where he first learns the value of exploiting racial trauma to his own benefit. The popularity of his work eventually leads to greater success and to more exposure. This book reminds me of RF Kuang's Yellowface and Zakiya Harris's The Other Black Girl, both in subject matter and cringey storylines.

Victim is a tale of a Hispanic boy who yearns for approval and validation in all the wrong places. He grows up to be a man who uses whatever injustice he hears of for his own benefit. How long can it go on? This book is similar to the novel Yellowface. The main character is not easy to like or root for, but that worked to the author’s advantage because I blew through the book pretty quickly. Not my favorite, but brings up a lot of interesting and important issues in society. Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a wild book. This follows a Puerto Rican main character who wants to be a writer and quickly figures out he can become successful by fabricating stories about experiencing racism and oppression, fed by white peoples' desire to read these stories. I so enjoyed this well written, delusional main character who raises a ton of interesting questions about who's to blame here... Really enjoyed this and you will too if you liked YELLOWFACE or SALTBURN!

This is not a title I would normally have picked up, but I really really enjoyed it! Also, the cover art!!

This is a great book, that works on many different levels. It paints a colorful picture of Bronx street life, but more importantly, it touches on what happens when virtue signaling and “political correctness” go too far. A very timely topic, indeed. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this book! I couldn’t put this down. I didn’t want this story to end. I highly recommend this one!

VICTIM is a satirical novel about a young man who discovers that if he exaggerates the hardships he's faced in life, he's likely to be noticed for scholarships and other accolades. It's a sharp, engaging novel that I think will challenge a lot of readers to think about their own media consumption and the narratives they expect from others based on race/class. I'm excited to see the discussion around this book when it's released! Some plot points felt a little flimsy or unrealistic, but I still tore through this one and found it very readable.

Victim tells the story of Javier, who capitalizes on his victimhood to fulfill his dreams of being a famous writer. The story was so well written that I felt uncomfortable at times reading it because I hated Javier's actions and at the same time I understood why Javier was behaving in that manner. Any book that can make me feel an intense emotion, even if uncomfortable, is worth reading.

Javier is a hustler from a family of hustlers. He learned from his drug dealing dad how to play the game, and he’s used it to his advantage. In college his girlfriend pushed him to use his past to his advantage on the school newspaper. From there it morphed into writing a column. Then one of his stories goes viral and he lands a staff writing position for a magazine for his “unique perspective”. All is looking up until he is doing an interview and his now scorned ex-girlfriend calls in a tip that he has embellished certain parts of his past to his advantage. Will this be the end of his career, or another thing to profit from?

This book was thought provoking and poignant. Making up being a victim so you can cash in on it, is never something that even remotely crossed my mind as something someone would do, so in that regard this book was eye opening as well. I will give it props for being creative in that regard. The character was so unlikeable, but I wanted to keep reading. It reminded me much of the saying of not wanting to look away from a train wreck actually, so I think that it hit the satire nail on the head. I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed Yellowface, which is also satire, and that was a lot. Both books deal with race and injustice in the world as well. This book also did a fantastic job at making me feel uncomfortable at times, I wasn’t sure if I should feel bad for Javi or sympathize with him. While there wasn’t much to like about him, I did enjoy his snark.

If you are looking for a satire that will make you feel uncomfortable, but is so good, then check this one out.

Thank you so much to Doubleday, @Doubleday and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Victim tells the story of Javier - a young Puerto Rican man living in New York City. Javier is trying to decide who and what he wants to be in life. When writing his college admissions essay, he realizes with the help of a teacher how much he can leverage his life experiences to his advantage. People want to read stories like his, so why shouldn’t he let them? Javier continues to fuel his writing with stories that are mostly based in truth- so what if some details are edited? When his childhood best friend gets out of prison, can Javier keep the stories going or will he finally go too far?

I read this enthralling book in one sitting! Javier is a truly compelling narrator. There’s a clandestine and almost intimate sense that he’s leaning over to whisper his story in your ear. I was spellbound. Andrew Boryga has a powerful gift for writing complex characters, yet also making them relatable. Readers will be able to understand exactly why Javier made the choices he did. Even when those choices are morally gray, Javier is a smooth narrator who will win readers over. Javier’s voice is distinct and captivating. Yet, Javier is also brutally honest about why he made his choices and what the reactions of his closest friends and family were.

Boryga raises important issues about the disturbing standards that the world expects of young people of color, particularly young writers on the internet. He explores virtue signaling, the precarious balance between who you are online/in real life and many more social issues with nuance. Javier’s editors push him to exploit his identity and reward him accordingly. When the world constantly asks Javier to write more about his trauma, the darkest moments in his life- can you really blame Javier for giving them what they want? I enjoyed how even at the end when Javier is confronted with his editorial choices, he has a supportive community offline. Victim is a fast-paced, gripping read that I would recommend to anyone. I’m looking forward to what Andrew Boryga writes next!

Thank you to Andrew Boryga, Doubleday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

I liked the protagonist and the voice of the novel. IT had a unique feel in that way. The plot could use some clarity and some direction. It felt a little scattered to me.

Cool concept of cashing in on how victimhood is currency so you can play that line like a pimp. He’s inspired by the assumptions people make that he’s been poor or abused just because he’s a New York Puerto Rican. Though he grew up in the Bronx w/ a hustling dad and a fretting mom they do love and spoil him. He just deals w/ small things he shouldn’t like his parents asking them if the other has a lover or the tios laughing he can’t decapitate a chicken clean enough. Ironically, they waste the chicken and get KFC instead.

When his dad is shot by the deadbeat he roughed up, the MC Javi is unsure how to feel because his dad would always come and go as he pleased to make money. Soon, Javi learns to take advantage of pity at school to cut class and surprisingly taking his mom for granted now that she’s nagging more (but just as hilarious towards his BS). The MC’s humor is more bratily unintentional. His best friend has a dead mom he was tight w/ but he doesn’t want any of the sympathy or shortcuts Javi does. Yet he’ll come up with good excuses to smooth things over for him any chance he gets.

The prose is a couple steps above plain w/ details like “The elevated train ran by every few moments, slicing through the sky and scattering sparks in the air.” An annoying but hot mixed girl takes an interest in him on campus once a slimy white-guilt teacher pressures him into beefing up a sob story to get it. Those two jumpstart his con game of garnering pity points with their “progressive” inherent racism. Girl wants to be a professional activist and spout about micro-aggressions like they’re war crimes while her cop dad trust funds her. The MC is impressed by her vocabulary, “confidence,” and very much so her t!tties. He wants her assured future to rub off and up on him, so he mimes her.

He knows he wants to be a writer but isn’t sure how to get there. His GF pushes him into an elevated position on the student newspaper because he’d be the “only brown boy” on staff. He wants to make a splash, especially since he’s never written an article of column. So, he takes a friendly interaction he had with night patrol giving him directions and twists it into him fearing for his life. Honestly, hilarious. He already had creativity down and his girl taught him top-notch arrogance after introducing him to similar Twitter hysterics or real cases he could take advantage of.

The leader of the Latin group where he met his chick privately calls him out for co-opting others stories for personal gain. Yeah, he wants some of the glory and a paper job but he put in way more honest work of all kinds. The MC responds by threatening to write a searing, slanderous piece about him. Guess that’s the harebrainedness of youth and awkward when the guy did seem to always want his girl, Anais. Anais is your typical wannabe Brooklynite, her whole mission allegedly gentrification but turning her nose up at even diners without almond milk. She liked when the MC clowned that guy as too privileged even though she came from a true-blue Susie Homemaker in the manicured ‘burbs and never even had to pick up her wet towels.

Once they start planning to live together, it’s more obvious how much of a face she puts on, and really she thinks she’s better than everyone ever, no matter their color. Once he gets a side job as a teacher it’s fun how the student see right through his lazy phoniness to connect. As ignorant as Anais is, we feel bad for her when the MC brushes off her complaints for years about a better living situation, he really doesn’t ever seem to love her, just wants someone hot to copy. He proves to be crazy thorough at manipulating even loved ones at the drop of a dime! Very exciting to read but makes you even more weary of who you can trust.

I thought the premise of this book as a satire was appealing and I was excited to receive an ARC. However, it didn’t read to me like satire but instead was about a character who told outright lies to gain attention and ruined many relationships. I didn’t feel like the book acknowledged the true and very real discrimination experienced by people of color but instead focused on the main character’s lies that are in fact truths for countless others. I was hoping this would be more like Yellowface, but I think it fell short of calling attention to issues of racism and discrimination in a meaningful way.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday books for the ARC! I read this book a few weeks ago and some of the details have left me but overall, I thought this was a unique yet poignant look at modern culture with a thriller-esque twist that made it very entertaining!